Why Geography Matters More Than Ever Summary

In the book " Why Geography Matters: More Than Ever" by Harm de Blij the thesis that is that despite being in a time where the world is more connected than ever before, people around the world are less educated in matters of Geography. If we wont understand Geography than we are at a disadvantage because we are not seeing the whole picture and it separates us from the rest of the world.

He gives examples of this by explaining what in his opinion is Geography and spatial aspect.The good and the bad things that people use Geography for. Then he discuss the history

he also gives a background on how the earth came to be and the different era. climate change

Harm de Blij graduated from the University of Witwatersrand in Africa and then continued his graduate education at Northwestern University, where he also received his doctorate. He was also a

professor at Michigan State University for many years . He published more than 30 books and he was also a geography editor for "Good Morning America" and was a geography analyst for NBC News.
In the beginning of his book why geography matter more than ever he talks about the importance of knowing geography and being literate in simply reading a map to be able to really understand current events like most recently the Arab spring.
de Blij talks about made him want to become a geographer and his fascination with the world that really drove him to becoming a geographer, which he states " " many others could find similar experiences.
In his book he address what it is to be a geographer, he talk about how it is different from the other discipline in the sense that there real definition of what it is.That there is no one definite answer of what it is and how it has changed over time and continues to change with new technology that arises. He talks about how geographers now don’t do the same things as in the past because of the way technology has advanced in the recent decades.
He does describe four traditions that geographers do go by the first is studying not only the physical aspect but the human aspect as well. The second "the complicated relationships between human societies and natural environments"(7) The third is researching foreign cultures and religions that are distant, The fourth tradition is more of a human geography aspect to it so it focuses on what drives human behavior in certain ways and other things like that.
Throughout this chapter he gives an explanation of what maps are and a history of the progress that has been made through time from the ancient times to the current GIS and GPS systems we have today. He goes on to explain the scale, direction, symbols, and projection. He explain each one and explains how it important to know the purpose that serve and to have that information because if you don’t know then they can be used to manipulate the public and cause awful. like it had been done in the past by Germany and Russia to name a couple of examples , with the use of maps. if you are informed of this information its harder to believe the lies that you are told but if not ignorance can cause unintended consequences. Also “cartographic aggression”(69).New technology has also made it easier for cartographers and geographer it’s a lot of new information that we have, but at the same time if we only rely on things like navigation even we with all that information we still wont bother looking at anywhere beside our own little space without literacy in the world and geography.This entire chapter does a a good job in supporting his thesis.
He discusses our current population and growth rates throughout different parts of the world. The affects that the growing world population and reaching the limit to the amount of people can sustainably live on the plant. The negative outcome of an increasing population. Also what has lead to this growing population, which is in great part due to better hygiene like soap and the toilet. Blij goes on to say how the more 'advanced' countries have stabilized population wise, while more developing parts of the world like Africa and Central America are still experiencing population growth. he also brings up an important point on how population decline can also have negative effects. 'combine a shrinking population with rising life expectancy, and the economic are alarming' (78) Places with stable population would also be effected indirectly which could create tension and "schisms"(79) later on. He also talks about the English economist Thomas Malthus who basically predicted that because of growing population in 50 years the entire country would be starving which would lead to a social collapse (93)

de Blij begins the chapter by stating how there is no 'global' warming but how there is this "average planetary temperature increases" . He explains how there are these phases of warming and cooling on the earth, which doesn’t necessarily mean its going to cold everywhere or warm everywhere.de Blij says that its more of an average of the earth temperature is either cold or warm. He goes back to explain how the entire earth came to be and the different theories as to how the earth was formed and the different times where extinction has taken place and the probable cause of them.
He begins by saying that he wishes that if only people in North America could have " witnessed the final surge of the Wisconsin Glaciers" could have been able to write about the struggled that they were facing. he goes on t o say that if it was like what people in Europe and China were facing it must have been an awful struggle. The melting glaciers were causing powerful rivers and releasing "loses" into the air which he describes it as being a lot worse than what would was the dust bowl(124). Then suddenly there was this brief time called Younger Dryas that "caused a thousand years of cooling" This could have been caused by either a comet that exploded near the surface or by ice that slid into the North Atlantic. he also discusses about most recently this time period where human dominance over nature, like Manhattan. During the period of warm favorable weather was the time when was definitely a good time for Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty, they were both able to accomplish a lot during this time. Then came a time of cooling where the conditions and winters and spring got harsher weather which brings him to what he calls "Mini Glaciation" or "Little Ice Age. all of this was disastrous and was causing starvation and all kinds of things. in about 1326 is when it fully reached china causing the same thing as well. In Europe this did about what they call the second agricultural revolution, because it was really matter of survival. Then came a period which the call the real ice age, and it continued with a lot of different crisis in North America and Europe, which caused a lot of food shortages and made it a very difficult time. like the Toambora Volcanic explosion that caused the " year without simmer". Now we are in the warming phase, which is bringing rising sea levels that can potentially wipe out islands that are at a low sea level. That brings a new question whether our actions are eliminating the cycle that has always existed and now be in the warming phase forever. That going to bring extreme weather conditions and are we able t o survive it. It does show how important to know geography and be able to understand these previous warming and cooling phases that have happened through out the history of time to be able to understand what is going on.
He discuses the huge role that geography has on war and the importance it is to be informed at least about maps. He gives the example of the war in Vietnam. once the war was over was when we realized how ignorant we had been, he talks about how it would have made a huge difference if we had known the diversity and know about their culture we could have prevented such a costly war. during this time people had strong opinions on the war but they still had no geographic knowledge about Vietnam. he puts some of the blame on the American school system that stopped teaching geography and instead you have 'social science' . He sees that as a major contributing factor as to why we are becoming geographical illiterate.
Then he talk about in reality when you compare the death tolls from terrorist attacks and natural disasters, there are way more deaths from natural disasters. He brings up how it is scary under the threat of a terrorist attack because of the unknown, while you can assess the probability of a natural disaster depending on where you live. He talks about the "Triple Frontier", which includes Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay and the growing activity for terrorism. Not just specifically in that area but that from there they will more destruction. The growing conflict in Africa especially due to religious views, Christianity and Muslims. The effects it having on the country continuing the instability that is there.THen how the horn of Africa has become rampant with Islamic terrorism especially in Somalia where piracy has really taken off. He talks about the three main types of locations that breed terrorists activity and what they have in common. de Blij bring up three, the first is in struggling or failing states, the second is really remote and rugged environments, and the final one is in a a big city where they can go undetected.
in the next chapter he discusses Chinas growing importance in the world politically and economically Also how because of Chinas population people think pf it as being a huge country but its not in reality its smaller then the us and hold a large portion of the world population.He also refers to china as an empire and he goes the history of how china came to be. It how it continues to ne a superpower and holds more importance for so many reasons.
He goes on to talk about Europe, it gives a little bit of history and how some many revolutions went out from Europe and how its always been at the center of things. How small Europe actually is and the amount of natural diversity that you will find. The many different languages you'll find there. The problem in the future with the declining population, different things are effecting which could lead to economic trouble in the future. Also he ask the question of where exactly is Europe and if Russia is considered part of Europe or not. He brings this up because to be part of the Europe puts you some of the most advanced and stable places in world despite having some problems, he says is still a great thing for a country politically and economically. He discusses President Truman's role in unifying Europe with The Marshall Plan after the second world war.
Finally how Africa has really gone unnoticed for so many years, while there has been a lot of conflict.

How it continues to be country with so many problems from starvation to infant mortality rates. He also talks about how the slave trade completely "depopulated" entire places and how it also caused conflict between tribes. de Blij brings up how the environment has also had a role to play in Africa's current situation, when in Middle America they were domesticating different animals then only one suitable for that was a guniea fowl. In the equatorial part of Africa there is a lot of disease in huge part to the climate and humidity which makes it perfect foe disease to spread. how it matters to the rest of the world, by ridding Africa from the diseases we would also be helping the rest of the world by preventing probably horrible diseases from spreading. The effects of the exploitation by the colonist throughout Africa, and the effects of it. The continuing lack of leadership in Africa, which is important for stability in the country. Also seeing how Chiba presence in Africa will ultimately be a good or bad

thing.
His conclusion emphasis again how important geography and how geography is in some way a part of our life even indirectly but it does have some affect.Knowing this information is going to make a real difference and open up the world in a new way that you would have never thought. Everything thing from globalization, natural disasters, and wars. I think that in the first chapter he does a good job in showing how geographic illiterate we have become in this country and the consequence of that come with that like history has shown. He was able to shown in his book how pretty much everything that is going on earth today and in the past is connected to geography and the important role that it plays in things we may not have even realized from wars, to climate change, and population, etc. How geography is more important now then ever before with globalization, pretty much every part of the world is connected to one another. By not hyaving the knowledge of the world and geography, he basically says that we are isolating our selves from the rest of the world, which I completely agree with. I would definelty recommend this book to otheres de Blij does a good job in highlighting the importance of Geography.